WASHINGTON: A White House spokesman said Friday that the United States (US) opposes Chinese calls for a truce in Ukraine, saying this would simply consolidate “Russian conquest” and allow Moscow to prepare a new offensive.
“We do not support calls for a ceasefire right now,” National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Kirby told reporters ahead of next week’s Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow.
“We certainly do not support calls for a ceasefire that the PRC would call for in a meeting in Moscow that would further benefit Russia,” the spokesman said, using the official acronym of China – the People’s Republic of China.
The US, which is leading a Western coalition to support Ukraine’s defense against the more-than-year-long Russian invasion, is concerned that agreeing on a ceasefire as the priority would relieve pressure on Russian troops and allow the Kremlin to consolidate its grip on large swaths of territory.
“A truce now is effectively the ratification of the Russian conquest,” Kirby said.
“Then, Russia would be free to use a ceasefire to further strengthen their positions in Ukraine, to refit, rebuild, and refresh their forces so they can restart offensive in Ukraine at a time of their choosing.”
“We do not believe ceasefire is a step toward a just and durable peace.”
US President plans to talk with Chinese counterpart
Kirby reiterated that US President Joe Biden plans to talk with Xi Jinping by phone but said arrangements have not even been initiated.
“There is no phone call scheduled. While President Biden has made it clear he wants, he is looking forward to another opportunity to speak with President Xi; we are not actively engaged in the process of setting that up right now,” Kirby said.
“To my knowledge, there has been no outreach to the Chinese leader to work on the logistics.”
US officials are closely watching whether Beijing will extend its diplomatic support for Moscow during the war to military assistance, such as weaponry or ammunition.
Kirby said China has not “taken it off the table, but we also have not seen any indications or confirmation that they have decided to move in that direction or have actually provided” weapons.
